Three Things I Know About the NFL After Week 11: Rex Ryan's $75k F-Bomb, Jay Cutler's Broken Thumb, and A Fork in the Bills

Apparently all I needed was a referencing a song about big balls in Tailgate Confidential and then playing it on the radio show to get back to having good picks weeks. Moral of that story is AC/DC is greater than The Sugarhill Gang. I went 11-3 (101-51) straight up and 9-5 (62-61) against the spread. I admit to being happy that I was wrong about the Browns this week, but Dallas not covering against Washington and the NY Giants losing to the Eagles had me pretty aggravated Sunday night.

Three Things I Know Today

Rex Ryan isn’t even classy enough for a foot fetish convention. We’ve all heard of players and fans getting into verbal spats. Sometimes there are some adult oriented hand signals, sometimes it’s all swear words and your momma jokes. That sort of thing happens with players. I’m not defending the irresponsibility of a player, but they’re mostly young guys who are filled with emotion and competitive focus at the time of the offense. Not often does a coach get into the act.

At halftime of last week’s loss to the New England Patriots, Rex Ryan yelled, “Shut the f–k up!” to a fan that informed him that Bill Belichick is a better coach than he. Two things, Rex. First, that fan is right. Bill Belichick is a better coach than you are. Say what you will about He Who Dons The Hoodie, but not only does he have rings to back up his superiority, he’s not dropping F-bombs into the crowd when he gets a little pissy at his players. Second, you’re an NFL head coach. You are expected to represent your team and the league as a professional who has been entrusted with the keys to the franchise that represents fans worldwide. I haven’t seen the head coaching rulebook, but I’m pretty sure the first line on the first page says, “Don’t be an ass.”

Roger Goodell levied a $75,000 fine on Rex Ryan for his slip of the tongue. I’m not sure if I feel like that’s too much money or not enough. I will always hold coaches more accountable for things of this nature than players. It’s a leader’s responsibility to mold the men he leads. Rex Ryan is the reason the Jets are an all-talk group.

Oh, and if you’re a foot fetishist who’s offended about a foot fetish convention joke, I say that you clearly don’t have a sense of humor. A foot fetish convention would be hilarious.

The Bears will suffer the same fate as the Texans. And possibly worse. Last week I wrote about the Houston Texans and quarterback Matt Schaub’s lisfranc injury. The season altering quarterback injury this week is Jay Cutler’s broken thumb. Rumor has it that Jay Cutler can be back for the playoffs after a so far unscheduled surgery to repair his thumb, but that assumes that the Bears will make the playoffs. Chicago is tied with the Detroit Lions at 7-3 and would currently be in the last wild card spot in the NFC. Replacing Jay Cutler is Caleb Hanie. In his 7 regular season appearances, Hanie is 8-14 for 66 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Hanie does have some postseason experience, filling in after a Cutler injury in the 2011 playoffs. He went 13-20 for 153 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 21-14 loss to eventual champion Green Bay Packers. Hanie isn’t as bad as some backups I’ve seen take over, but this is a big spot. I wasn’t sure that Cutler had it in him to get this season done, I’m even less sure about Hanie.

The Bears saving grace is the schedule. They’ll be battling that Lions for second place in the NFC North and a wild card spot. Detroit still plays Green Bay twice, Oakland, and New Orleans in the last six weeks. Even Detroit’s “easy” games are against San Diego, who are great twice every five weeks, and Minnesota, who has a fierce pass rush. Chicago only has Oakland and Green Bay once left on the schedule. Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, and Minnesota certainly won’t be sure wins, but that path is a lot less daunting than what Detroit faces.

Even if Caleb Hanie rallies the Bears to the playoffs, their first round game will be in Dallas, New Orleans, or Atlanta. I can’t see a young backup playing well in any of those buildings. If Cutler doesn’t come back by week 17, it’s curtains for da’ Bears.

The Buffalo Bills are done. This is worse than that time you bought the most expensive filet you could get your grubby hands on and then drank too much while you were grilling, leaving your fancy cut of beef looking like an old, beat up leather wallet. Wait, am I talking about the San Diego Chargers? Sometimes I get confused about teams that I’m counting out.

Nope, it’s definitely the Bills today. Fred Jackson is still a very good running back, but something happened to Ryan Fitzpatrick. Buffalo just can’t score anymore. They never had a great defense, but 32 points per game can make up for a lot of deficiencies. That offense is no where to be seen anymore. Buffalo has been outscored 106-26 during this three game losing streak. Let that soak in. Buffalo has given up 106 points in three games. That’s allowing a whopping 35 points per game while only scoring eight points. You could tell me that the Bills’ last six games would be against top six college teams in the BCS rankings and I’d pick the Bills to go 3-3. That makes them 8-8 at the end of the season, and that’s not enough to make the playoffs. Even in a relatively weak AFC.